Ankara: Turkey is making efforts to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative which is set to expire on March 18, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said in a statement.
“We continue our discussions (on the deal) with the UN, Ukraine and Russia, which are the parties to the grain initiative,” Xinhua news agency quoted Akar as saying in the statement on Thursday.
“Ukraine expressed a positive opinion for a second extension of the initiative. Russia also displays a positive attitude toward its extension,” he added.
At least 790 ships have left Ukrainian ports so far carrying nearly 23.5 million tonnes of grains since the initiative came into being in July last year, Akar noted.
Nearly 40 per cent of the grain passing through the corridor was transported to Europe, 30 per cent to Asia, 13 per cent to Turkey, 12 per cent to Africa and 5 per cent to the Middle East, according to the Defence Ministry in Ankara.
On July 22, 2022, Russia and Ukraine separately signed a document in Istanbul with Turkey and the UN on grain and fertilizer exports from Ukraine and Russia to ensure supplies to global markets amid Moscow’s full scale invasion of Kiev.
The deal, due to expire on November 19, 2022, was extended for another 120 days to March 18.
The Defence Minister’s statement came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and visiting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for the extension of the initiative.
–IANS